Serie A runners-up Milan have reportedly scheduled a meeting with Romelu Lukaku’s entourage to negotiate a potential return to Italy amid a standstill with Joshua Zirkzee’s agent. According to Calciomercato, the 19-time Italian champions see the Belgium international as a decent fallback option in case their pursuit of the Dutch youngster falls flat.
Bologna forward Santiago Castro recently confirmed that Zirkzee’s rumored switch to Milan is on hold. Despite the club’s best efforts, the player’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, is reluctant to budge on his insane requests, throwing a deal into doubt. As a result, Paulo Fonseca’s men are still in the market to replace Olivier Giroud.
Lukaku was part of the conversation earlier in the summer when Roma failed to turn his loan move permanent. The 31-year-old returned to Chelsea before heading to Euro 2024, but he’ll not stay at Stamford Bridge beyond August. Milan could offer him a route back to Serie A, where he spent the last two seasons.
However, Milan must cope with Chelsea’s demands. The Blues paid Inter a monstrous €115 million to sign Lukaku in the summer of 2021. Though there’s no way they can recoup their investment, they’re adamant to earn at least €40m from his inevitable departure. That’s an identical figure Milan would pay Bologna to recruit Zirkzee.
But unlike the Dutchman, Lukaku would offer no sell-on value. Nonetheless, he’s still an elite striker. He amassed 21 goals in 47 matches for Roma last term. Though he’d be a decent short-term solution for Milan, his arrival alone wouldn’t address the club’s attacking woes.
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Let him come